Anya's 1st birthday bash

Last Saturday, we held Anya's birthday bash.We had 40 over people at our place, a quarter of which made up of scurrying little ones below the age of eight. This was the first time we had so many kiddos in our humble abode at one time. Oh boy! At one point, I thought we were going to bring down the roof, except that we live in a flat, and ours is not the highest floor. Heh.

The Caterer

As it was meant to be a cosy gathering for the dearest and closest, I decided to opt for a nicer caterer. After some research on online forums, my heart was set on Rasel. The staff, Jyne, who coordinated with me was quick to respond and obliging to special requests. On the day itself, the delivery men was understanding to set up the food as quiet and gentle as they could after The Husband informed them politely that the birthday girl was still taking her nap. And most importantly, we received many positive feedback about the food - including my mom who is a picky eater! Servings were generally generous and hot favs of the day were the chicken bulgogi, nonya laksa and the Teo chew braised duck. I was disappointed that our families (having more Asian palate) did not fancy their signature Sheperd's Pie while some friends raved about it.

The Cake

I was tempted to order one of those fanciful 3-D cakes or cupcakes that many online bakeries offer these days, thinking that it will be such an eye feast for both children and adults. On the other hand, I had reservations given that the old folks usually dislike most fanciful cakes, passing them off as gimmicky and often, too sweet for their liking. Eventually, I decided to opt for a safer choice and ditch the idea of a fanciful cake.

Well, my safer choice turned out to be a slight nightmare in terms of coordination as Bengawan Solo had different random staff calling me once or twice a day making various queries about my preference for the cake. Two days before I was due to collect the cake, my doubts turned to panic when no one had yet to get back to me whether the picture that I emailed them for my customized cake could be used when I left prior messages on both via email and with their HQ staff. I had to make considerable amount of noise before someone could help me to go through all the details of my cake and make a verbal confirmation (& much needed assurance) that my desired cake will be delivered in time.

Thankfully, the end product was as promised. The mango cake was as good as ever, and the customized picture of Anya's current idol (Larry, the cucumber from Veggietales) on top of the cake sent both adults and kiddos cooing and "aww"-ing. I was happy.

Larry, the Cucumber

Are we cutting the cake now?

Goodie Bags

I thought it will be nice to include something that Anya likes in the goodie bags for the little guests - just to share her love around. So, yep, you may have guessed it, in went something Veggietales-related. For the toddlers, they get a Veggietale boardbook, while the bigger children gets activity & coloring books - all of which I purchased online from Christianbooks. In addition, I also threw in some clappers and munchies ( pigeon finger snacks for the tods; gummy bears & jellies for the older children). Unfortunately, I forgot to take any pictures of the goodie bags although I spotted them lying around the house in pictures of when the party was in full swing.

Decoration & Set-ups

I got the banner from Party Joy in Parkway Parade. The cool thing about this banner is that it is recyclable all the way till 5th birthday! All I need to do is the change the sticker of the number (1st to 2nd etc - which is included). Heh, cheapo as it may sound but hey! It is a waste of both materials and money ($15!) for a banner that is gonna stay up there for one afternoon. I decided against helium balloons simply because we have ceiling fans in the flat and dread the thought of the children incidentally releasing the balloons only to be burst by the fans. So, yeah, instead, all the balloons that were put up around the house were inflated by yours truly.

To keep all the 12 kiddos happily occupied, I cleared out all of Anya's toys from the play-barn and lined them up neatly along the walls on the alphabet mats in her room. Then, I threw in those colorful plastic balls into play-barn for some active play. Last but not least, Veggietales were screened on the TV but I later switched to Rapunzel as the kiddos either already owned the VCDs themselves or were not interested. Well, glad to see that Rapunzel turned out to be a big hit.

The children jig around while The Husband acts as bouncer.

Silly Penguin regains popularity!

So yep, that sums up the bash pretty much. Between The Husband and I, we thought it was a blast. We got to mingle around, the kiddos all seemed to have fun, the guests had to good time knowing new friends and catching up with old ones and the birthday girl was happy to eat her cake. The moment I like most has to be the singing of the birthday song. Naturally, everyone crowd around us as The Husband and I stood in front of the cake, Anya in my arms. As we all sang and clapped, my little birthday suddenly sensed the infectious joy in the atmosphere and started clapping excitedly along to the beat while beaming joyfully at me. 

Yes, sweetie, it was your special day. :) Blessed year ahead!